Returning Power
"Then there will be a second Tiphys, and a second Argo
with its crew of chosen heroes. There will be second wars,
and once again great Achilles will be despatched to Troy.”
— Virgil, Eclogue IV, 34-36
Vassals and Lords
Who were these rulers in the past and what connects them to each other today? Did they know each other long before? Following El Ochre (7 December 2024), we find them among the early rulers of Assyria and Parthia.
Benjamin Netanyahu can be found among the early Assyrian kings in the 21st–20th centuries BCE. His name is recorded in the king list as Hayani. We find him again as Hayanu among the Hyksos (Canaanite) kings of Egypt's Fifteenth dynasty, the local form of his ancient name rendered as Khyan. Several modern Israeli leaders are drawn from this period which then amounted to a Caananite occupation of Lower and Middle Egypt. We may see a parallel of this in modern Israel's occupation of Palestine. Netanyahu's name comes up once more among the rulers of Assur in the 1st century CE. Assur was then the capital of Assyria and effectively a city-state ruled by a succession of usurpers, although Assyria itself was under Parthian sovereignty. He was then known as Hayyay, a usurper of Arabic descent, and contemporaneous with Parthian King of Kings Vologases I (Vladimir Putin). King Hayyay constantly vied with rivals to hold onto his rulership but, significantly for us today, his entreaties to Vologases for recognition and support as vassal lord went largely ignored.
As may be expected, Bashar al-Assad comes from the Assyrian kings of old at the end of the 7th century BCE. He was none other than Ashur-uballit II, the last ruler of the empire. Like Netanyahu, Assad also ruled the city-state of Assur, but in the 2nd century CE. Known then as R'uth-Assor, he was one of several rival usurpers vying for lordship under Parthian sovereignty. He vacillated in allegiance between Vologases III (today Lukashenko of Belarus) and the usurper Osroes or Chosroes I (today Iran's Supreme Leader Hosseini Khamenei).
Old Enemies, New Allies
As discussed, Russia is heir to the souls of old Greece. We now wish to add that this recurrence is far more pervasive than a few Athenian statesmen, lawmakers and poets returning to reform their new city. Rome, Parthia and Armenia also bequeathed their souls to Eastern Europe: Orbán, Erdoğan, Putin and Zelensky not come from that corner of the world but were contemporaries in the 1st century CE, and all tied to Nero who constantly meddled in their affairs. ​ As former client kings and honoured citizens of ancient Rome, you could expect Orbán and Erdoğan to feel indebted to America, today’s New Rome. However, since successive emperors, including Nero, forced them to renounce or abandon their thrones, their loyalties lie elsewhere today. Understandably. ​ In the course of their careers, both Orbán and Erdoğan have shifted their political allegiances as they once did when Antiochus and Tigranes rose to power, first by registering their opposition to a common rival, and then by aligning with an adversary. In the current scenario, Orbán and Erdoğan began as anti-communists and opposed authoritarian governments until, securely in power, they began selectively supporting Russia and China — or at least endorsing the leaders of these countries on select occasions. Ironically, they are now authoritarian leaders themselves. We shall return to the transpersonal lives of Chinese president Xi Jinping in another post. As former siblings, Putin and Zelensky seem to have had an amicable relationship, although the older Vologases probably used his younger brother to advance his own political ambitions. Putin appears to be the reincarnation of Parthian Vologases I, King of Kings, and the big brother of Tiridates I, King of Armenia. Both were active in the mystery rituals of Zoroastrianism. ​ When Vologases invaded Armenia, then a client state of Rome, and set Tiridates up as a new vassal king, he put himself at odds with the Roman empire. After peace was established diplomatically, Tiridates travelled to Rome to be officially crowned by emperor Nero. Though privately disgusted by Nero’s ceremonial extravagance and personal indulgence, Tiridates nevertheless paid obeisance to him as his overlord. We’ve dealt with Nero and the occurrence of Roman America in the post below. ​ Geopolitical alliances are not only ideological or pragmatic but, evidently, a lot more personal. Much of what we see occurring across borders today, west to east, is based on old ties and former loyalties.
As noted above, Putin and Zelensky are said to have been followers of Zoroaster in the mid-1st century CE. (El Ochre, 9 November 2016) Putin was allegedly a high priest or hereditary magus who performed ceremonial roles. His actions were symbolic rather than mediumistic. His dualist rhetoric and war tactics today could be a continuation of his religious training and practice. If so, is his invasion of Ukraine to be seen as a Zoroastrian 'end times' in which, at least for him, good triumphs over evil and brings about the restoration of the world? Zelensky, also a Zoroastrian priest, introduced several governmental reforms and, possibly, brought the Mithraic rites to Rome. In his case, his military strategy could be a re-enactment of the bull-slaying ritual of Roman Mithraism in which the bovine’s head is pulled back by the nostrils, not by the horns, while a short sword is thrust into the neck. Symbolically, the victory (or sacrifice) heralds the beginning of a new phase or age. If so, what will this mean for Ukraine and Europe?
